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Clueless about milk and bottles?!?

Nora has been shunning her bottles lately. This is at daycare, since she doesn't get them at home. She didn't eat any of her 3 5 oz bottles yesterday (one bm, 2formula) and rarely takes all three. I talked to the teachers this morning and they said that she often doesn't take much from them-just enough to fall asleep and that she prefers the bm to the formula (of course ).

I said that maybe I should just start sending 2 bottles or that maybe I should start not giving her bottles. Don't you start weaning them off bottles at around one? I just don't know. I'm clueless about it and they didn't really give me any input about it so I thought of you ladies- my source of all parenting answers. They did say that once I gave the go ahead they would start giving her milk in a sippy with her meals instead of water.

So...
1. Is this a good age to start weaning off the bottles?
2. Should I continue to give the bm in a bottle?
3. Should I continue to send bm, but have them give it in a sippy?
4. Is whole milk really a sufficient substitute for formula?

I should add that she is a great solids eater and eats more than most of the other kids- even the ones that are much older than her, so I'm not too worried about nutrition. Plus I do plan to continue nursing her for quite awhile, and I know that she gets plenty of nutrition from that. But she is still quite small for her age.

Last edited by NorasMommy; September 20th, 2007 at 07:09 AM.

“We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.”
--Anonymous

Re: Clueless about milk and bottles?!?

Originally Posted by NorasMommy

So...
1. Is this a good age to start weaning off the bottles?
2. Should I continue to give the bm in a bottle?
3. Should I continue to send bm, but have them give it in a sippy?
4. Is whole milk really a sufficient substitute for formula?

I just had this talk with my doctor at DD's 1 yr visit on Tuesday. Here's what I was told.
1) DD should be off the bottle by now, but she is stubborn (like her daddy! ) and refuses milk from a sippy. But, she loves everything else in her sippy. We are still working on it.
2) If she'll take it from a sippy, great!
3) see #2
4) Formula does not have enough fats in it once the child passes the age of one. Whole milk has the necessary fats for brain development in toddler that formula lacks. So yes, milk is better than formula past the age of one.

That's what I've heard from other moms and from my doctor, HTH!

Our blessings from God!Kylee was born September, 2006 - 9 lbs. 12 1/2 oz, 21 inches long. Kiefer was born January, 2008 - 6 lbs. 14 oz, 19 1/2 inches long. He was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy at 12 1/2 months old. Others later discovered.And I am even more blessed by being married to my best friend and the most honorable man I've ever known.

Re: Clueless about milk and bottles?!?

Originally Posted by Sherri H.

I just had this talk with my doctor at DD's 1 yr visit on Tuesday. Here's what I was told.
4) Formula does not have enough fats in it once the child passes the age of one. Whole milk has the necessary fats for brain development in toddler that formula lacks. So yes, milk is better than formula past the age of one.

That's what I've heard from other moms and from my doctor, HTH!

What about those next step formulas for like 9-24 months or something? I am worried to switch my one year old to just whole milk because she was a preemie and still not caught up to her age and she is a VERY picky eater. I am worried that without formula she won't get everything she needs.
(she was never breastfed. i am on here trying to learn before my baby boy gets here so he will be.)

Re: Clueless about milk and bottles?!?

So...
1. Honestly, my son is 20 months old and still won't take milk from anything but a bottle.
2. If she'll take it: why not?
3. See #2
4. Past one it is supposed to be. DS wouldn't accept whole milk alone at first so I had to mix it and gradually increase the proportion of whole milk until he preferred that.

Re: Clueless about milk and bottles?!?

Thanks ladies. I appreciate your advice. I will go ahead and start trying to get her to take her milk from a sippy. Nora is like Sherri's lo, she'll take anything from a cup except milk.

I've heard those 'next step' formulas are really just a gimmick by the formula companies to get you to keep buying stuff from them. They knew most of their customers were switching away from formula after 1 year, so they invented something new to keep them buying.

“We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.”
--Anonymous

Re: Clueless about milk and bottles?!?

No clue about the second step formulas. I know when I looked at the labels it seemed the second step ones had a little bit more calcium but everything else looked the same so you could be right.

We're hoping that DS will start wanting to drink his milk in a cup while at daycare so he can be doing what the older children are doing. SO far, at home, he actually gags if I give him his milk in a cup.